Last night ReVision Energy joined dozens of other partners in Seacoast New Hampshire’s Green Alliance for an event celebrating the Green Alliance’s 2nd anniversary – a cruise on the Piscataqua River on board the Thomas Laighton with the Isle of Shoals Steamship Company.

In addition to GA partners were several hundred Green Alliance members who enjoyed a spectacular sunset and music by the band “Pretending,” a Pretenders cover band. Here’s some video of the event:

ReVision appreciates how so many green events are fun, too! We hope to see you out this Saturday, June 19, at LL Bean’s Green Expo.

We’ll also be hosting our own event aboard the Thomas Laighton on August 4. Stay tuned for details!

ReVision has another busy weekend ahead as we appear for several events this Saturday, May 8. We hope that you’re able to come up and see us talk about the road off of oil and renewable energy options for your home!

You can join us at one of three events:

Belfast, Maine – Good Life Fest

The Good Life Fest, presented by Bangor Savings Bank, celebrates the best of the good life – local foods, good health, and the green home – for an exciting day of samples, workshops, demos and shopping at the Belfast Armory on May 8 from 10 am to 5 pm, on Route 1 in Belfast.

Over 50 exhibitors will offer products, services, and samples of the Maine green lifestyle. Workshops are planned all day on topics ranging from Ayurveda Yoga to the future of farming in Maine. Admission is $5/person with no fee for children 12 and under.

ReVision will be exhibiting to show how solar hot water and solar electric systems work, and how renewable energy is truly a part of the good life!

More information and a full listing of events and exhibitors is available at www.goodlifefest.com.

Portsmouth, New Hampshire – Portsmouth Sustainability Fair

Joining together as community partners, Portsmouth Listens, Piscataqua Sustainability Initiative, The City of Portsmouth, and the Portsmouth School District announce the third annual Portsmouth Sustainability Fair.

Sustainability entrepreneurs will exhibit their ideas, products and projects. There will be an emphasis on slow and local food along with engaging environmental education for kids. Come enjoy, celebrate and learn. The Fair is an invitation to participate and contribute to the next steps we can take as individuals and collectively in making sustainability a reality.

The theme of the Fair will be The Natural Step Four System Conditions, as adopted in Portsmouth’s resolution to become an eco-municipality. Come experience and learn how The System Conditions give us a compass to guide us into a sustainable future.

More information at http://portsmouthsustainabilityfair.org/

Wiscasset, Maine – Chewonki’s 10th Annual Sustainable Energy Conference

Chewonki’s 10th annual Sustainable Energy Conference will take place on May 10th on the Chewonki campus. The daylong conference will feature experts and academic leaders in the field of sustainability and renewable energy, and will showcase the latest technologies and vendors from New England.

Pat Coon, a co-founder of ReVision Energy, and now founder of sister company reVision Heat, will be presenting “The Road Off of Oil,” a talk that will explore simple, cost effective boiler controls upgrades that can be made today at very little cost, weatherization and insulation, on demand water heaters, solar hot water, pellet and wood heat in boilers and stoves. The road off of oil will be a long one – mapping it out is the first step.

In addition to Pat Coon’s talk, the Chewonki event features a host of different renewable technologies, including geothermal designs, solar heating, residential wind turbines, green building construction, and energy efficiency seminars.

The conference is open to the public by reservation. Registration fee includes the workshops and keynote speaker, interactive exhibits, a tour of Chewonki’s renewable energy systems, a continental breakfast, and a hearty lunch.

Today is Earth Day, which means a lot of attention to planting trees, cleaning up trash, recycling, and – more than ever before – working to make the energy we consume more sustainable.

We hope that means more people will be looking to the sun for a solution!

This weekend you can catch us at two events to talk about solar – one in New Hampshire, and another in southern Maine.

2nd Annual Earth Awareness Fair! – Apr 24 10AM – 2PM in Hampton, NH

Held at the Hampton Academy School, 29 Academy Avenue, Hampton, NH (Map and Directions), the purpose of the Fair is to draw attention to the 3 Rs: Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle, energy conservation, and sustainability.

Money raised will go to the Recycling Education Committee to further promote recycling education. Additionally, as part of the effort to “Reuse”, we are encouraging neighborhood “yard sales”. The event is sponsored by the Hampton Recycling Education Committee.

We’ll be there to talk about clean energy solutions for homes and businesses, and the available rebates and incentives in New Hampshire.

In addition to a 30% uncapped federal tax credit, solar electricity is eligible for a $6,000 rebate from the state of New Hampshire, and New Hampshire’s PUC recently launched a rebate that averages $1,250 for solar hot water systems. Furthermore, NH residents within the New Hampshire Electrical Co-op may be eligible for an additional $1,500 rebate.

Kittery Earth Day – Apr 24 10AM – 3PM in Kittery, ME

Held at Kittery’s Autoworks, (Map and Directions)

This event is being hosted by the Kittery Energy Advisory Committee in conjunction with Spruce Creek Association and the Kittery Land Trust. There will be mini-workshops with speakers to talk about energy saving ideas and information about the recent award of the $500,000 regional block grant.

If you weren’t already aware, residents of the KEYS area (Kittery, Eliot, York, South Berwick – as well as Ogunquit and North Berwick) will be eligible for low-interested loans of up to $10,000 for energy efficiency and renewable energy projects (see an article in The Green Alliance newsletter).

ReVision will there to discuss solar hot water and solar electric options for the home and business, and how these proven renewable energy systems can decrease your energy bills and help the environment.

Every Day is Earth Day?

The phrase “Every Day is Earth Day” may sound like a cliche, but it’s not if you’re running a renewable energy system on your house. With solar hot water or solar power, you’ll be offsetting fossil fuel use and enjoying the benefits of a clean energy system that will operate trouble-free for years to come.

Come join us this weekend to learn more!

Come see the new super-efficient GO Home — at a Talk-and-Tour at the Belfast Free Library on Thursday, April 8, 2010 at 7 p.m.

On track to become the first Passive House certified home in Maine, The GO Home is the affordable and super-energy efficient model for the 36-home Belfast Cohousing and Ecovillage slated to begin construction in the Spring of 2010.

Why Build A Passive House?

The GO Home is designed to solve the problems of energy consumption and greenhouse gases resulting from poorly built, drafty homes, which are increasingly more costly to heat and hazardous to the environment.

Among the energy efficient building elements of this remarkable home are triple glazed windows, doors with three air seals, foundation insulation and comprehensive air sealing – including sealing underneath the foundation and on the building envelope.

To offset what energy the GO Home does consume, GO Logic called in ReVision Energy to install solar electric and solar hot water systems. The solar electric system consists of 2.7KW of Canadian Solar panels, which will offset roughly 4,900 lbs. of CO2 emissions annually. The 60-tube Apricus solar hot water array is sized to meet the needs of a family of four, and will produce an estimated 14,200,000 BTUs of clean, renewable heat energy annually.

So far, we have received a report that in March the prototype has produced more energy than it has used. According to CMP we used 137KWH, and made 184KWH, with a surplus of 47KWH!

This Thursday’s event will feature an unveiling and discussion of The GO Home at the Belfast Free Library followed by a preview Tour at 83 Crocker Road, Belfast, on Saturday, April 10 at 11 a.m.

For more information, please contact Matt O’Malia or Alan Gibson at (207) 338-1566 or visit their website: www.gologichomes.com. To track construction and development on The GO Home, visit the prototype blog at: http://www.gologichomes.com/blog/category/prototype/.

What is a Passive House?

Similar to the LEED program, a Passive House (also known as the German “Passivhaus”) meets very strict requirements for building efficiency and performance, specifically regarding insulation values and energy consumption requirements.

More details of these requirements on the Passive House website.

We hope to see you this Friday and Saturday (March 26 and 27) at the Seacoast Home and Garden Show held at the Whittemore Center at the University of New Hampshire.

Our booth will have demo solar panels and evacuated tube solar hot water collectors, so you can see the technology that makes renewable energy a reality!

Friendly ReVision staff will be there to answer any questions you have about solar for your home or business.

According to Foster’s, the event attracts over 10,000 people annually and will hold seminars on “a variety of topics, including tips on hiring contractors, making homes more energy efficient, eco-friendly solar options and affordable kitchen designs.”

Other attractions include a “Meet the Chefs!” cooking seminar, Greenhouse Open House, and book signings.  Free parking with shuttle service is available throughout the weekend.

For more information, see the Foster’s article on the show or visit the Seacoast Home & Garden Show website.

Show runs 11AM-6PM Friday, 10AM-6PM Saturday, and 10AM-5PM Sunday.  Tickets $8 general admission, $6 seniors, $4 youth; children 6 and under are free.  Directions: http://www.homegardenflowershow.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=seacoast.driving

ReVision’s Geoff Sparrow was invited to teach a lesson on solar systems to a third grade class at Mast Landing School in Freeport.

To help illustrate how well solar works – even in winter! – we set up a single evacuated solar hot water tube outside with a temperature gauge attached to it.

We were able to show the kids the heat generated with the tube in the sunshine… 100+ degrees of heating in less than 20 minutes!

We also did an in class activity (see photo, right) that taught the differences between energy saving actions and energy wasting actions.

We always love the opportunity to get into classrooms to talk about renewable energy – kids intuitively “get it” and are eager to take an active role in preserving the planet that will be inherited by them.

If you’re interested in having someone at ReVision speak at your school or nonprofit, just contact us – we’d love to do it.

Join us on at 6PM on Thursday, February 18 for Portsmouth’s Green Drinks, held at Two Ceres Street, Portsmouth’s eco-friendly martini bar.

ReVision will be presenting with the Seacoast Renewable Energy Initiative (SEAREI) on solar power – how the technology works, costs, and practicality for businesses and the homeowner. There will also be plenty of time for networking and asking your questions about solar!

The event is free and open to the public and there will be an expanded dinner menu with a number of special GreenDrinks eats and discounted drink offerings every week. Members of the Green Alliance can enjoy two for one eats!

Green Drinks Greater Portsmouth is part of an international movement where environmental-oriented businesspeople get together for informal networking events each month – you can learn more about the Green Drinks movement or find an event in your area. Green Drinks are also held each month in Portland, Maine.

November 7 – Go Green Expo in Topsham 10am – 4pm:
The Southern Midcoast Maine Chamber is hosting their third annual Go Green Expo event at Mount Ararat High School Gymnasium on Rt 201 in Topsham. There will be a number of vendors available promoting their energy efficient products. ReVision Energy will be there and will also be presenting on the fundamentals of solar hot water and solar electric systems. This event will be free and open to the public. For more information visit the events section on the Chamber’s website.

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November 20 – Forum and E2Tech Annual Meeting 7:30am – 9:10am
John Brautigam, Maine PUC Energy Programs Director, and Tim Vrabel, Deputy Director, will provide details on the $37 million coming to Maine to be distributed among industrial, municipal, commercial and residential sectors from within the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. In addition Efficiency Maine is in communications with the Department of Energy regarding another opportunity that could represent approximately $60 million for Maine. This event will be held at the Maine Audubon in Falmouth. For more information visist E2Tech online.

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November 21 – Home Energy Conference, Hartman Union Building, Plymouth State University, Plymouth, NH 8:30am-4:30pm.
The New Hampshire Sustainable Energy Association’s fall conference will focus on ways to make efficiency and clean energy a commonplace practice at the home, and a good policy in the town. Representatives from ReVision Energy will display renewable solar technologies for home and business, and be available to answer questions about renewable applications and economics.